54 Movies, Tuesdays and Thursdays in October...

This month TCM is proud to shine the Spotlight on the achievements of women in film. This celebration is part of a partnership with Women in Film (WIF) designed to raise awareness of the lack o gender equality in the industry, while highlighting the contributions women have made to the world of cinema throughout history. This inaugural festival kicks off a three-year initiative that will air on the network each October through 2017.

The focus of the festival for 2015 is female directors, showcasing a variety of filmmakers from the early days of cinema through to modern times. Each Tuesday and Thursday lineup will be hosted by actress/director/producer/writer Illena Douglas, who will be joined by co-hosts including directory/producer/writer Julie Dash, historian/documentary filmmaker Cari Beauchamp, director/producer/writer Allison Anders, and many more.

The festival spans the decades ranging from the short film La Fee aux choux (1896, TCM premiere), one of six works shown to honor French filmmaker Alice Guy-Blache; to The Hurt Locker (2008) by American director Kathryn Bigelow. Guy-Blache is regarded as the first female writer and director of narrative films, while Bigelow became the first woman in movie histry to win an Oscar as Best Director (The Hurt Locker, a TCM premiere, also won as Best Picture.)